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sábado, 8 de janeiro de 2011

Matilda Mk II Infantry Tank A12 with crane - case report

This is my new project: A Matilda II Mk II A12 with crane, for removal turrets of other Matildas. These Matildas Crane were used to replace the normal turrets by CDL turrets.

Two Matildas for different jobs...

The real thing:

Matilda Mk II crane

Profile:

Matilda Crane from 49th RTR

For these plastic adventures, I like to use old or scrap kits ...I have a semi-built kit, (old Tamiya) that will serve for this purpose perfectly ...

Tamiya (old) Matilda Mk II (scrap)

For increase the weight, I'll use Friulmodel metal tracks....

ATL-72 Matilda tracks (early type)

Starting by the blueprint:

The beast and the blueprint.

The Friul tracks. Awesome...

As I was refurbishing the scrap kit to make the crane model, I decided to do an up-grade in the Verlinden turret from my Matilda CDL kit. The Verlinden turret has a flat roof (wrong). The correct is tilted.

Verlinden CDL turret. Starting the correction...

plasticard steps

sanding...

sanding...

sanding...and...

Before and after:

After the turret corrected, I made a silicone mold and cast some turrets for this project and future others ...

A comparison between the turret "Panzerserra" and turret Verlinden, from my Matilda CDL (I'll reform in parallel ..)

Verlinden (left) and Panzerserra turret (right)

Need guts to detonate a beautiful kit, but as she was wrong, let's fix ...

Fixing my CDL Matilda Mk II

And the old turret "donating" parts to new turret...

The new and the old turret...

The new turret with old good parts:

After heart palpitations caused by the "reform" of Matilda CDL, let's return to the scrap and the crane...Plastruct time!!!

Support crane built with Plastruct

The sides of the fenders were armored and were part of the Matilda´s structure.
Therefore, it could bear the weight of the crane and his load...

Using the blueprint (in perfect 1/35 scale) to scratch the crane...Plasticard 1,5mm thick.

Using the blueprint as templante to cut the plasticard

Almost done:

plastic and metal...

The arms of crane was made by Plastruct. Dry-run:

Building the anchoring in the rear hull:

Notice the rear anchorage devices

Upgrading the old Tamiya kit:

Notice the armoured doors hinges

Racks of crane´s frame:

The arms of the crane was installed with stabilizer wires (dry-run) to show the position of the angle of the arm. The support of the turret (lifting frame) and its hooks being tested ...

The crane under tests...

The lifting frame:

Upgrading the turret: Replacement the plastic gun by metal (RBModels). Sometihing wrong with this turret...The MG coaxial is very long...

The coaxial machine gun is too long...

Definitive rigging cables installed ... The kit is ready for primer:

Build the hoist of the crane: The lead weights are to keep the rigging stretched.

Primer:

The Matilda was painted in bronze-green. And so, I discovered what was wrong with the turret with gun (and had already painted). The mantlet was built inverted, with the coaxial in the sight hole. Uff...What a shame!!!

Mantlet corrected (in green and other turret, for the crane). In the pic insert, the wrong mantlet

I managed to disassemble the mantlet by inside of the turret, without damaging the paint and articulation of the gun. Everything is back to normal ... whew!!

The tower fixed and installed in the Crane tank:

Turret with fixed mantlet

The whole group, as will become

However, when the artillery turret is removed from the hull, is accompanied by the "basket" that "contains" the crew of the turret. And the Tamiya kit does not come with this interior detail.

Tamiya´s turret without crew basket

Scratch time:

The basket in scratch...

The "accessory" tower painted:

The CDL tank turrets:

Cdl and gun turrets to CDL tank

The crane, in close-up:

After the paint, decals...Markings of 49th RTR - 35Th Tank Brigade

Matilda Mk II - Crane tank - "Gerald" - 49th RTR - 35Th Tank Brigade

Matilda Mk II - CDL tank - "Grant" - 49th RTR - 35Th Tank Brigade

Leveraging who was reforming the Matilda CDL, I decided to change the tracks that were in the model by the early model, from Bronco: The survivor Matilda CDL, in Bovington, has this kind of "shoe".